Major Porn Site Wants You To Design Their Next Nationwide Ad Campaign

For a porn company, advertising out in the open can be something of a tightrope walk. You might score a banner ad on a camming site, but you'll never make it to the Facebook sidebar or the A train. Pornhub, a porn site that describes itself as "the premier destination for free online adult entertainment," is now calling upon its legion of die-hard fans to launch a new, tame SFW multimedia ad campaign. Today the X-rated site announced its Creative Director Challenge, a call-to-entry for any ad buffs looking to develop print, billboard, web, or video for an industry that is, by its very nature, ad-unfriendly.

The winner of the safe-for-work campaign will be rewarded with a one-year paid employment contract as the Creative Director of Pornhub and will work closely with the team to launch their nationwide ads. For any advertising hopefuls, it's quite the enticing business card.

The contest is not only an attempt to bring more name recognition to the site, which according to Quantcast sees about 15 million unique visitors a month, but a way for Pornhub's ardent fan base to get involved with the site's latest direction. Pornhub says the winning ad will be universal, and slyly wink at the benefits of porn — it's safe sex, it's readily available, and always open to everyone — without being too explicit.

“Traditionally, porn has been a taboo subject — but the fact is, over 35 million people visit Pornhub.com everyday,” said Corey Price, Vice President of Pornhub in a press release. “We couldn’t be more excited to get this contest off the ground and reach the next 35 million through mainstream media.”

This isn't the first attempt for the porn giant to go mainstream with its advertising efforts. Pornhub's data-driven Insights blog has captured cubicle-friendly audiences with compelling infographics about everything from who watched porn during Christmas to the most searched for porn flicks in Kentucky. In 2013, Pornhub's ultra subdued Superbowl commercial, featuring a contented older couple on a bench, was famously banned by CBS. But the ad flub still drove traffic. And if this Tumblr-run contest is just another attempt to create another advertising dustup over censorship laws and seduce new fans eager to show off their marketing chops, it could work again, regardless if Pornhub ever sells a multi-million dollar TV spot.

If you'd like to be the next Don Draper of porn, here are a few early entry campaigns Pornhub has posted on their Tumblr to get headed in the right direction. You have until March 31st, so you might want to watch some porn tonight — for inspiration.